State of the Union: Trump's 5 ideas on how to protect America from threats abroad

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff listen to U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 30, 2018.

The U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff listen to U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 30, 2018. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

President Donald Trump has long said he wants to protect America, but in his first State of the Union address on Tuesday he articulated a number of ways he wants to ensure the nation’s security abroad through military and diplomatic means.

What does he have in mind? Let’s take a look at five ways Trump wants to improve national security.

1. Modernize and rebuild America’s nuclear arsenal

As he has mentioned in the past, Trump reiterated in his speech his wish to see America’s nuclear arsenal modernized and rebuilt. He said he wants to make it “so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of agression by any other nation.”

“Perhaps someday in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet, sadly,” Trump said.

2. Defeat ISIS

Fighting terrorism, specifically ISIS, abroad was one of Trump’s key promises in his campaign. As president, he said at his address, he said the U.S. and its coalition have made progress.

“One year later, I am proud to report that the coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated almost 100 percent of the territory once held by these killers in Iraq and Syria and in other locations as well. But there is much more work to be done,” Trump said. “We will continue our fight until ISIS is defeated.”

3. Keep Guantanamo Bay open

Unlike former President Barack Obama, who pledged but failed to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Trump vowed to keep the facilities open and that terrorists should not be released.

“In the past, we have foolishly released hundreds of dangerous terrorists, only to meet them again on the battlefield — including the ISIS leader, al-Baghdadi,” Trump said. “So today, I am keeping another promise. I just signed an order directing Secretary Mattis — who is doing a great job, thank you — to reexamine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay.”

4. Reallocate American foreign-assistance dollars

Last month, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that was widely disapproved by members of the general assembly of the United Nations. But at his speech Tuesday, Trump doubled on his pledge to back “friends of America” like Israel.

“Tonight, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to help ensure American foreign-assistance dollars always serve American interests, and only go to friends of America,” Trump said. “As we strengthen friendships around the world, we are also restoring clarity about our adversaries.”

5. Address nuclear threats in Iran and North Korea

Trump continued his criticism of the Iran nuclear deal, asking Congress to address the “fundamental flaws” in the deal, and he added more warnings about North Korea’s nuclear provocations, adding that he “will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations.”

“North Korea’s reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland. We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from happening,” Trump said. ”We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and to our allies.”